United arab emirates Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in united arab emirates, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Import Requirements and Documentation
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The UAE’s Federal Customs Authority sets the country’s customs policies. Each emirate also has its own customs authorities. Customs offices are located at airports, seaports, and on land borders.

Importing Goods

To import goods into the UAE, companies must have the correct trade license from the Department of Economic Development (DED) from the Emirate. Foreign companies can either set up an office in the UAE or establish a fully owned company to do business in the UAE “mainland” (i.e., not in the free zones, also referred to as “onshore”). Companies that set up in a FTZ can also use their trade license to import goods into that FTZ. 

To import goods, the UAE-based company (consignee/agent) should get a delivery order from the shipping agent and submit the following original standard trade documentation:

  • Commercial invoice from the exporting company addressed to the importer with details about quantity, goods description, and total value of each imported item.
  • Certificate of origin, stating the country of origin and approved by the Chamber of Commerce in the country of origin.
  • Detailed packing list including weight, method of packing, and HS code for each item.
  • Import permit from the competent agencies in case of importing restricted goods or duty exempted goods.
  • Bill of entry or airway bill.
  • Food products, also require the following certificates:
  • Original health certificate issued by the appropriate government agency in the exporting country, attesting to the product’s fitness for human consumption.
  • Original Halal slaughter certificate for meat and poultry products.

For attestation of all commercial invoices and shipping documents, please see the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/services/attestation.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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